KATE CHOPIN – The Awakening

A classic of feminist writing which was decried in its late 19th-century day and only rediscovered in the 1960s, this is the story of a woman who finds family life too constricting; she engages in a series of flirtations and gradually prises herself out of the claustrophobic mould in which she has found herself, to seek emotional, financial and sexual freedom. But will she have to pay too high a price…? This is a very atmospheric book; the sea plays a huge role and life on the summer resort is evoked beautifully. The language is a little indirect but never confusing, and it’s an interesting and thought-provoking read.